When I was a sophomore in high school, a remarkable man taught me American Literature. It was because of that man that I ultimately chose to pursue a career teaching English in Catholic schools. Aside from the obnoxious puns, quick wit and amusing sarcasm he often brought to the classroom, he showed me, and countless others, the paramount importance of words and their usage. I am happy to share the importance of words and their usage continues to be an essential element of the English classroom. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the impact his profound and purposeful prayer life had on my relationship with God. In fact, this whole article will be the exploration of just one word where these two lifelong lessons intersect. Of course, we will be exploring the power and importance of the word: “Transubstantiation.”
As with any good lesson in entomology, we have to first look at the locusts eaten by the great Saint John the Baptist. Nope, exploring words is called etymology, but feel free to feast as the saints do as you read on. Transubstantiation is the word used in Catholic Theology to refer to the belief that after the priest or bishop speaks the words of institution over the species of unleavened bread and wine made from grapes and mixed with water the bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This is no symbol, but an objective reality. The word then has to mean that the substance of those objects changes. “Trans” as a prefix literally means “on the other side of” or simply put, to change. Substance refers to what something is. The word then describes this belief perfectly, the substance of bread and wine changes into the Body and Blood of Christ. If you have been to church in the last few months, I’m certain you would know that the Eucharistic Congress was held in Indianapolis, Indiana the third week of July 2024. To have an international event drawing Catholics from around the world to the heart of America shows only a fraction of the importance of the Eucharist. Paragraph 1324 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the Eucharist as “The Source and Summit of the Christian life.”
One of the cool things about words is that we can always reflect on different meanings, and specifically, how words make us understand the world we experience around us. Something that always struck me about the word Transubstantiation is not just its very obvious application to the objective truth it defines, but the fact that it describes what the Eucharist does too. When we receive Holy Communion, we become tabernacles. We are carrying the presence of God of the Universe inside of our bodies. When we leave Mass, we have been commissioned by the concluding rite to go out into the world and serve. The best part is, we don’t do this alone because we have Jesus present with us.
Secondly, regular and worthy reception of Holy Communion changes who we are. Not to be so cliché, but we are what we eat. We so often waste so much of our energy on time-consuming things that are terrible for us like gossip, poor social media feeds, and senseless entertainment that we become so much like the world we are called to change. Having Jesus in our bodies and hearts will inevitably lead us to do better. Since the universal call for us is to be holy, we need to seriously consider what actually helps us achieve holiness. And what’s even better is that holiness on earth will be an ongoing project, just like homeownership. It may be exhausting, tiring, difficult, and arduous at times, but when we have small victories, they will feel liberating, and when it’s all said and done, the rewards are bountiful. Of course, the grace dispensed by the sacraments is meant to help us on our journey home, so it’s no surprise that the Eucharist draws us closer to Jesus.
I do think that a fair conclusion to this article would be about our pursuit of holiness. When I’ve spoken to people about that journey, they often intimate that holiness seems unachievable or an insurmountable task, one only achieved by the holiest of hermits or the most pious of monks. Well, those people may in fact be holy, but we can’t let society dictate that our pursuit of holiness in our own lives is strange or weird. Jesus calls us to be radical in the way that we love, so when we serve others and when we pray, it might unsettle some people. Showing our love requires commitment to the great commission, so we should be out there asking people to join us on our journey toward heaven. If we can accept one purposeful mission in life, the mission needs to be to get to heaven and to bring as many people with us as we can. Regular reception of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, will give us the grace we need to carry on when things get difficult, when people laugh in the face of everything we hold dear, and when all seems lost. Don’t forget that Jesus Himself wept when His friend Lazarus died, even when he knew that he could bring him back to life. Jesus teaches us that we can experience natural emotions, but never lose sight of the supernatural reality of God. The sacraments, prayer, fasting, and service are all keys to inheriting exactly what God has prepared for us, especially when we face adversity and temptation. In the prologue to his Rule, Saint Benedict gives this charge to all monks, and I suspect, all of us:
“Therefore, we must prepare our hearts and our bodies to do battle under the holy obedience of His commands; and let us ask God that He be pleased to give us the help of His grace for anything which our nature finds hardly possible. And if we want to escape the pains of hell and attain life everlasting, then, while there is still time, while we are still in the body and are able to fulfill all these things by the light of this life, we must hasten to do now what will profit us for eternity.”
